June 30th 2024.
In the financial year of 2023-24, there was a decline of over 4% in the number of new subscribers added by the Employee Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), compared to the previous year. This information was stated in a report by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation. According to the report titled "Payroll Reporting in India: An Employment Perspective - January to April, 2024", there were 1,09,93,119 gross additions of new members to EPFO in the mentioned time period, as opposed to 1,14,98,453 in 2022-23.
The decline in the gross addition of new members can be attributed to the ongoing pandemic that has affected various aspects of our lives. In fact, the numbers had dropped significantly from 1,10,40,683 in 2019-20 to 85,48,898 in 2020-21, due to the lockdown restrictions imposed by the central and state governments to control the spread of the virus. However, there was a slight recovery in 2021-22, with 1,08,65,063 new members being added.
It is worth noting that the data from the last five fiscal years, till 2023-24, shows that the gross new members addition by EPFO has not yet reached the pre-covid level of 2018-19, which was 1,39,44,349. This indicates the impact of the pandemic on employment and economic activities. The lockdown restrictions have caused a significant decrease in employment and it will take time for the numbers to recover.
The Ministry has been releasing employment-related statistics in the formal sector since April 2018, covering the period from September 2017 onwards. These statistics are based on the number of subscribers who have subscribed to three major schemes - Employees' Provident Fund, Employees' State Insurance, and National Pension Scheme. However, since these numbers are from different sources, there may be some overlap and the estimates are not additive, as stated in the report.
The report also revealed a decline in the gross addition of members of Employees' State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) from 1,67,73,023 in 2022-23 to 1,67,60,672 in 2023-24. On the other hand, there was an increase in the number of new subscribers under the National Pension Scheme (NPS), from 8,24,735 in 2022-23 to 9,37,020 in 2023-24.
Overall, the report highlights the impact of the pandemic on employment and the efforts needed to bring the numbers back to pre-covid levels. The decrease in the gross new subscribers addition to EPFO and ESIC is a cause for concern, but the increase in NPS subscribers gives some hope for the future.
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